Hobbes believed that without one unaccountable sovereign who is in control of our society, we will eventually break out into a civil war and mass chaos will reign because we are all selfish creatures who will do whatever we can and want just to make our lives and how people view our lives better. According to Hobbes, the governments were created to keep us from these evil impulses since we ourselves are not trusted with making our own decisions.
Since we cannot be trusted with our decisions, Hobbes indicated that democracy would never work and that having either one person or a small group of individuals ruling our society keeps the peace and the public under control.
Our group (Riley and I for that day lol) discussed how monarchies are very rare now in modernized societies. It seems that only England still keeps the tradition going. Many third-world countries are either under a monarchy or a dictatorship and, no offense to anybody but we don't really pay much attention to them anyways. It's true.
Questions:
What was the paragraph Hobbes wrote? Leviathan.
Do you believe that all men are born selfish and should not be trusted with their own decisions?
I think that the idea that people are born selfish is a touchy subject. I think in order for that to be true and/or scientifically proven- there would be many debates that would rise from that: i.e. are people born crazy, are people born gay, etc. etc. I think that to an extent it is true, but ultimately people are faced with a decision to act upon that natural selfish will or desire. It comes down to the person as an individual, and how they handle the cards they are dealt in life. I think that there are many people who should be trusted with their decisions, and society in general should be trusted to remain free and able make their own decisions.
ReplyDeleteFor the next topic (American Enlightenment):
What inevitably was inspired by the wide spread event/ time of American Enlightenment? The American Revolution.... Declaration of Independence....
Do you think our government still upholds the key ideas that arose from the American Enlightenment ? (such as conservatism, liberalism, and republicanism?) Do you think the key "thinkers" in the American Enlightenment would be proud/satisfied with where their movement has gotten us today?
Hobbes Questions:
ReplyDeleteWhat is Leviathan a general example of?
a social contract theory
Do you think that Hobbes thinking could be applied in today's society? Why/why not